AGALLOCH

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Disenchanted and frustrated with the confines of their previous projects, Agalloch began in 1995 as the creation of John Haughm and Shane Breyer. In early 1996 in Portland, Oregon, USA, songs began to be produced by the duo and, during the summer, Don Anderson was added to the band to further refine the material. These songs would later become the From Which of This Oak demo tape in the autumn of that year. This recording showed a large amount of black metal influence, with an amount of material which would later appear on subsequent albums in one form or another. Shortly after the recording, Jason William Walton was added to the line up as bassist.

In 1998, the three recorded a new promotional tape solely for labels. It caught the attention of The End Records, who offered them a record contract, resulting in the Pale Folklore album. The album featuresread more...

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AGALLOCH Reviews

Agalloch's debut album sets out the stall for what the band would offer for much of their subsequent career: an intricate mixture of influences from atmospheric black metal, post-rock, folk metal, and just plain traditional folk, combined into an intriguing mixture. One of the things which keep Agalloch interesting as a group is that whilst most of those ingredients are present to one extent or another on most of their albums, at the same time the centre of gravity shifts about, making each album a distinct and different proposition. Pale Folklore, for its part, seems to me to be centred in a deliciously accessible brand of folky metal which gives way to darker currents as the album progresses, and is a worthy part of the group's musical progression.

The difference between your average black metal band and Agalloch is like the difference between the populist fiction of Dan Brown’s ‘The Da Vinci Code’ and a literary classic like Harper Lee’s ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’. Other bands write songs. Agalloch compose symphonies in miniature. Agalloch’s third full length album ‘Ashes against the Grain’ meshes metal seamlessly with classical instrumentation, ambient vistas, and powerful dynamics. Despite the complexity of the songs and the multi-faceted influences, this is still undoubtedly a metal album. ‘Limbs’ begins with an alternative rock sounding intro leads into a gothic acoustic section, with electric guitars playing like a distant echo, and builds to a doom crescendo. Then John Haughm opens his mouth and unleashes an abrasive vocal tirade, and without the listener realising it, the song has become distinctly black metal in character. Suddenly it breaks into disconsolate acoustics, and then the dread-laden music returns. Second track ‘Falling Snow’ throws in a livelier, almost hopeful riff, to contrast the previous song. It has less of the complexity, instead relying on a forcible beat, powered by driving double kick drums and a cascade of cymbals. Haughm also introduces vocal contrast, with a second voice of monastic clarity. This definitely isn’t music for anyone wanting a simple three-minute blast of high tempo metal. Only the ambient ‘This White Mountain on Which You Will Die’ clocks under five minutes, and several tracks approach in excess of double that. There is also an elemental, natural theme running through the album, interwoven with martial motifs. ‘Our Fortress Is Burning...’, ‘Bloodbirds’ and ‘The Grain’ form an epic trilogy to close the album. ‘Our Fortress Is Burning’ seems like a gentle instrumental, but has some tormented effects playing behind the main melody. ‘Bloodbirds’ continues with a dreamy air to it, and eventually hits a multi-layered guitar overdrive. Huge slabs of distortion and guitar effects grate together like tectonic plates on ‘The Grain’, eventually grinding down to nothingness and fading into the ether. This is an album to play to non-metal fans who think metal is all noise, and non-black metal metal fans who love to mock badgers in bullet belts. The music is not entirely in your face, instead swelling from humble beginnings, but scales some unexpected extremes. Only the cuts and contrasts allow you to realise how far Agalloch has taken you. Anyone undertaking the journey of this album will feel more than fulfilled.

Hello and welcome to my first Agalloch review. Open your eyes, raise your arms and behold the beauty of the universe... You may wonder what's the reason for such a theatrical introduction, so I hasten to explain that primo, Agalloch has never started an album with a more exalted track than "Birth and Death of the Pillars of Creation" (oh come on, really?). Secundo, the whole album is incredibly solemn. So, I just had to keep pace with the band, you see! The Serpent and the Sphere is the fifth LP from Agalloch, preceded by bleak and raw Marrow of the Spirit. This one on the other hand is much more accessible. And here's why...

Before I tell you why, one more thing. Don't think I'm belittling the concept behind this album. If only for how consistent every Agalloch album is, the band should be praised. As usual music, artwork and lyrics complete each other and create a stunningly atmospheric whole. Still, even though the sound production fits the music on The Serpent and the Sphere pretty well, I can't help but miss the raw black metal sound of the previous record. Agalloch's music relies on atmospheric layers rather than composition complexity and doesn't really need such a polished sound production. It just seems more genuine with a rawer one. Songwriting itself is strong as ever, even if I got a deja vu more than once. While Agalloch don't necessarily get stale, the polished sound would allow of more experimental approach. What we got instead is an atmospheric doom/black metal album that sounds a tad less post-metal. Neo-folk influences, on the other hand seem to have gained more ground. I may not like all the changes in direction but, despite all that, it's a very enjoyable and catchy record. Just another proof that Agalloch's got the magic, no matter what!

Every so often I catch myself turning a blind eye to anything that, in my humble opinion, Agalloch does wrong. Songwriting is sometimes rough, and pathos sometimes too abundant. Yet still this music is so honest and genuine that I can't help but get carried away with it. Even though a little less bold than before, Agalloch still stands out as one of the more original extreme metal acts. All fans of atmospheric metal should give this album a go, especially newcomers, as The Serpent and the Sphere is their most accessible release to date.

"The Serpent & the Sphere" is the 5th full-length studio album by US doom/black metal act Agalloch. The album was released through Profound Lore Records in May 2014. It´s been 4 years since the release of "Marrow of the Spirit (2010)", but looking down over their discography that seems to be their regular release cycle for studio albums. Agalloch have however released the "Whitedivisiongrey (2011)" compilation and the "Faustian Echoes (2012)" EP to bridge the gap between the two studio albums.

The music on "The Serpent & the Sphere" pretty much continues down the atmospheric and epic doom/black metal path that the band also tread on "Marrow of the Spirit (2010)". It´s a music style that´s actually a bit hard to describe correctly as it also features elements of folk, goth, post rock, and progressive rock. The only "real" black metal trait in the music is the raspy and raw vocals, which are occasionally whispering instead. Otherwise this is predominantly heavy, atmospheric and epic extreme metal. It´s very dynamic music with both grand massive sections and beautiful mellow acoustic moments.

The album features 9 tracks and a full playing time of 59:58 minutes. There´re everything from 3 to 5 minutes long tracks to tracks like "Birth and Death of the Pillars of Creation" (which features an opening that screams My Dying Bride) and "Plateau of the Ages", that both exceed the 10 minutes mark. As something extraordinary Canadian neo-folk musician Nathanaël Larochette has written and performs some acoustic guitar pieces, that work as little breathers between the more metal oriented tracks.

"The Serpent & the Sphere" is a well produced album featuring a warm, heavy and organic sound, which suits the music well and overall it´s another high quality release by Agalloch. It´s not their most creative release but it´s still adventurous and well played and a 3.5 - 4 star (75%) rating is deserved.

"The Serpent & the Sphere" feels like a continuation of "Ashes Against the Grain" in that Agalloch continues to drift from their black metal tendencies, (even if they were always tempered with folk and prog) with more focus on black metal aesthetics, atmosphere and song writing. While Haughm's classic raw, gravely rasps remain, there are very few blast beats to be found, and indeed the overall album has a less intense pace and feel to it. The songs are mid paced and far more subdued than their last album, "Marrow of the Spirit". In fact, I'd say "The Serpent & the Sphere" is more subdued than their overall body of work, which has never been a stranger to tremolo picked guitar work, or bludgeoning. Not to say these aspects are absent, (there's even some good ol double bass chain drumming) but there just seems to be "less" of everything, if that makes sense. A more sparse, less heavy feel to the music. Certainly less intensity, and even more acoustic/light guitar. The balance between light, melodic passages and heavy, raw passages seems to have tipped definitively towards the former.

The tone of the music itself is cleaner and lighter than "Marrow of the Spirit", which admittedly took a bit of adjustment..I am used to Agalloch loud, buzzing, fuzzy guitar noise. My natural inclination upon first hearing this is "flat" or "lacking power" but of course it just is different sounding. I personally applaud the band for the lighter style.

This is perhaps not unexpected, as Agalloch was moving progressively in this direction until they released Marrow. So maybe the style is what we should have expected, is it successful?

Of course.

The songwriting as solid as ever. Textured, layered guitar work with riffs and melodies to die for, (even if they are lesser on this album than previous) and songs that move like a river, drifting but not without direction. There are a few other minor changes, such as more prominent bass, and a smidge "more" to the drumming than is typical. The songs are shorter than usual, and this album has a continuous flow to it, with segue pieces to connect the songs elegantly.

So overall, another solid, (if unspectacular) output from Agalloch, and as we know solid from them is better than most other bands could hope for. I will be sure to give this album many listens over the near future, and like all their other albums I'm sure this album will grow on me more and more.